Amy Shure was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 9, 1960. She was taking advanced drawing courses and receiving portrait commissions by the young age of fourteen. Shure earned a Bachelor degree in Art History from Washington University in 1984 and a Masters of Fine Art degree from Parsons School of Design in 1987. She previously attended Connecticut College with a double major in Government and Art; Parson's undergraduate program in Illustration; and New York University's Film School where she earned a certificate in film making.
Shure became one of New York's Sensory Evolution Gallery's stable artists in 1981, three years prior to graduating from Washington University. She remained with the gallery for ten years, establishing a large following of students and collectors. Shure received acclaim from Where Magazine in 1989 as "one of ten East Village artists to survive the movement".
The term "tropical expressionist" was coined by the Village Voice in 1987 to describe the warmth and color-filled expressionist quality of Shure's use of paint. Shure established her textile design firm, Designs for Shure, Inc., in New York's apparel industry, taking precidence over painting as her professional career for the next sixteen years. However, Shure continued to develop her eye as a premier colorist and draftsperson, drawing and painting designs on silk as a textile designer.
Shure and her husband , along with their young son, made a major life and career move to Santa Fe, NM in the fall of 2005 where she is now actively involved in Santa Fe's world renowned art scene. The continuous evolvement of Shure's drawing and painting skills becomes clearly evident as she launches her new work, a large body of "tropical expressionist" oil paintings charged with the colors, patterns and textures of the Southwest.
My creative process is an intuitive exploration into the human condition. Each painting is a connection, a story, a reflective memory of everyday life. These messages or stories, my lexicon, have meaning to me and provide a base for the viewer to write his or her own story. I create safe havens where one can take a day trip to the tropics and find sunshine within one's self.
